The current president of China is Xi Jinping. “Uncle Xi” is most-known for his nationwide crackdown on corruption. Who was president before that? If you said Hu Jintao, you’d be right. Hu is remembered mostly for how unremarkable he was – he oversaw a ten-year period of consistent, if unexciting, growth for China, making little... Read more »
Like bacon jam, glow-in-the-dark frisbees, and Monsters University, we sure don't need this video mashup Jiang Zemin set to Gangnam Style. But we sure are glad to have it.
Isaac Stone Fish over at Foreign Policy has a fitting tribute to Mike Wallace, journalist, with a post titled "Is Mike Wallace the reason Chinese leaders don't give interviews?" To Wallace, who passed away on Saturday -- and to any journalist, really -- I can't think of a better compliment.
Wallace's genius was the ability to unblinkingly chastise power. Even during the aired pleasantries, Wallace looks unimpressed with Jiang [Zemin]. During minute 2 of the hour-long interview, aired days before Jiang's 2000 U.S. visit, Wallace tells Jiang "shorter answers, please. More concise" and a touch of panic breaks through Jiang's placid smile.